The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction
by Dragonlet1
Summary: What happens when the inhabitants of the Winding Circle world decide to do something about fanfiction? What if they had help? (enrollment-form re-done. If already applied, you don't need to re-send.)
1. Prologue: The Beginning

The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction  
  
By Dragonlet  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards.  
  
Prologue: The Beginning  
  
"I really appreciate you lending us Discipline, Lark," a young woman said once more as she carried a box down from the attic.  
  
"Not at all dear," Lark said kindly.  
  
"But if even one dares to dismantle my workshop-"  
  
"I already told you Rosethorn, they know not to," the young woman interrupted the sharp voice. "They know that would make you very mad, and they know not to make you very mad." Rosethorn grinned.  
  
"Let's hope the students learn that quickly," she said.  
  
"But that wouldn't be nearly as much fun." DL, the young woman, smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. Miss DL was the new course coordinator at The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction. No more would fanwriters slander her favorite author's work. Hopefully.  
  
There was a yelp from outside, and Sandry came in, looking a bit sheepish.  
  
"Sorry," she said, tugging on one of her golden-brown braids. "I'm still not used to the mini-what are they again DL?"  
  
"Mini-balrogs," Miss DL responded. "Was it Leogoles or Gimley?"  
  
"How can you tell the difference?" asked Lark, taking the box from Miss DL before she dropped it.  
  
"Thanks," she said. "And Gimley's cuter," she said in response to Sandry.  
  
"Would that be cuter by your standards, or ours?" asked a dry voice from above her.  
  
"That would be mine I suppose," Miss DL said, shrugging as she moved out of the way for the redhead to come down. "Is there anything else up there Tris?"  
  
"Nothing else," Tris replied, smoothing her skirt. "So, explain one more time how this will work again?"  
  
"Let's wait until I get everyone together, in case anyone else has any questions," Miss DL said, rubbing her hands together nervously. "The fanwriters should arrive tomorrow. Let's hope we're ready." A loud snarl came from one of the minis, and Miss DL, followed by the other four people, rushed out to see if her precious minis were all right. Although it wasn't the welfare of the evil miniature fire demons that the others were concerned about. It was more the welfare of any hapless passer-by, or a bird, or some wandering animal that worried them. The minis tended to be testy when they had not chased any fangirls for a while.  
  
Leogoles was trying to get his tail untangled from his whip, while Gimley was swatting at something flying around. The sunlight glinted off glass.  
  
"That's not Chime," Tris said calmly. "Chime does not have 'Uneni' written in gold on her." Miss DL stared helplessly.  
  
"Could someone get Daja please," she said, rubbing her temples.  
  
"What?" A tall black girl with a staff walked into view. "What is that?" she asked, eyeing the glass dragon that annoyed Gimley. Leogoles was till occupied with his tail.  
  
"Ah, Daja." Miss DL bent to help the mini. "Could you tell me if that is the correct spelling of your brother's name?" Daja stared at the small dragon for a few moments before shaking her head.  
  
"No. Why?" Miss DL groaned.  
  
"Great, one more thing to explain later," she muttered. Louder, she said, "You know how Leogoles and Gimley and other minis like them are spawned? By misspelling their namesakes', um, names. It appears that the misspellings of names in this continuum spawns Chimes."  
  
"Not mini-Chimes?" Sandry asked, watching as Uneni perched on the roof above them.  
  
"Well, Chime's fairly small as it is, and Uneni doesn't seem to be much smaller," Miss DL said absently, new plans growing. "Actually, this'll make security a bit easier. And I have an idea." She smiled. The four humans present were slightly disturbed by the smile. "Get everyone together, I'll be there soon." She rolled up her sleeves.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Rosethorn before leaving.  
  
"I'm going to try to catch a dragon," Miss DL said matter-of-factly.  
  
****  
  
About an hour later, all had gathered in one of the large rooms at the Hub. Miss DL walked in, followed by Leogoles and Gimley. She was holding something wrapped in canvas. It was moving, some noted as she walked up to the podium.  
  
"Thank you all for coming!" Miss DL had to shout to make herself be heard over the noise. "We all know that the next few months will be hard, as this will be your first exposure to fangirls and fanwriters." Some in the crowd shuddered. "This meeting will give you all a chance to ask questions that you may not have a chance to later. I also have an announcement to make after the questions."  
  
"Wh-what's that in y-your hands?" Keth asked. Miss DL smiled.  
  
"That is part of the announcement," she said, shifting her grip on the package.  
  
"I have some concerns regarding the enrollment form." A tall man with salt- and-pepper hair stood up.  
  
"What's wrong with it Niko?" Miss DL turned to the speaker.  
  
"I see you have down as one of the mandatory fills, 'race', and beside that have 'human/mage/other'." He put down the sheaf of papers. "What if someone puts down 'mage'? Or puts down something nonexistent, but powerful? Would that not be dangerous to us?" There were murmurs of agreement. Miss DL's smile widened.  
  
"Don't worry about that, it'll be fine," she assured him. "Are there any more questions?"  
  
"Can I-"  
  
"No Ben, you can not borrow the minis," she interrupted. Bennat Ladradun sat back down sulkily.  
  
"Nothing else? All right. Now, in case anyone is a bit fuzzy about what is to happen, let me explain once more. I have given you samples of writing known as 'fanfiction' from my world about this one. There has been a nearly unanimous decision to go ahead with this university. The fangirls and writers, upon arrival, will be assigned to a temple, where they will live during their stay here." Awkwardly, because she was still holding the struggling package, Miss DL pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. "The extreme fangirls, those who lust," she explained, "shall be in the Water Temple." She paused at the sound of mutters. "Look, we've been over this before, these are the final lists.  
  
"Those who write slash, as well as other non-canon love pairings, shall be in the Fire Temple. Those who actually stick to canon, or at least try to, will be in the Earth Temple, and the rest shall be in the Air Temple." Again there were mutters. "Look, I'm sorry, I just couldn't think of what they're called. Many of you have expressed desire for more security, worried about the power of fangirls, determination, and hormones." She began to unwrap the package. "This little fellow spawned about an hour ago." She let Uneni into the air. There were gasps. "No Keth, this is not Chime. This is Uneni." Miss DL watched the original Chime fly to meet the newcomer. "As you know, Gimley and Leogoles, the mini-balrogs, are the result when you misspell a name in the Lord of the Rings continuum. Apparently, we get Chimes.  
  
"At OFUM, the basic job of the minis is security detail, and making the students' lives heck," she continued explaining.  
  
"Though you must admit, a small glass dragon hardly has the same impact as a small fiery demon," Frostpine said thoughtfully. Miss DL smiled grimly.  
  
"Hopefully, they'll change that," she said, still smiling. "The new plan is that Discipline will be the Chime training-yes Keth?"  
  
"Why are we c-calling them 'Ch-chimes'?" he asked. "Wh-why no 'mini'?"  
  
"Well, they're not really smaller than she is," Miss DL pointed out. "That is, if Uneni here represents the average Chime. But if it bothers you, we can call them dragons," she added.  
  
"S-sounds good."  
  
"Great. As I was saying, Discipline will be the dragons' training center, with Leogoles training them for now. Until they are trained, Gimley will guard the staff section and all of you, until and if we get someone else to train the dragons." Chime and Uneni had been examining each other for a while, and each decided the other was of no concern. Chime flew back to Tris, and Uneni continued his inspection of the room.  
  
"Do you mean if one of us volunteered to train 'em?" asked Evvy. Miss DL chewed on her bottom lip.  
  
"Well that wasn't what I meant, but if someone was to volunteer, it would be wonderful," she said. The entire crowd backed up. "Okay, guessing that's a 'no' then," she muttered. "Well, that seems to be about everything. And no, Ben."  
  
Welcome students. Heh. Heheheheh. MUAHAHAHAHA! Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards. 


	2. Chapter One: The Form

Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards. And thank you to Elvea, who is a fantastic beta-reader! Smooches and chocolate for you. Or just chocolate, your choice ^ ^.  
  
Chapter one: The form  
  
Shawna covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back sleep.  
  
Must, not, fall, asleep, she thought, trying to keep her eyes open. So, close..... Her fingers were typing furiously, even as her eyelids felt weighed down.  
  
Sandry's blue eyes burned into Briar's gray-green ones. She leaned in closer, and—  
  
"Can you believe what she's making us do?" she asked. Briar grinned.  
  
"I know. Just because we all love each other, they think it means we're in love."  
  
"Stupid fanwriters."  
  
Shawna blinked. What the— There was a tinkle of glass behind her, and she whirled around.  
  
A small dragon made out of glass, with 'Kisobu' etched in gold on its side stared at her. It did not look happy. At all.  
  
"I've lost it, haven't I," she said. "I am now seeing small glass dragons." A wad of papers dropped into her lap, and a glass claw scratched her hand. "Ow!" She glared at the glass dragon. It glared back. She looked down at the papers.  
  
Congratulations! You have been accepted into The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction. Come to Winding Circle, located near Summersea, to learn more about this wonderful world, and how to write of the peoples more accurately. Take your pick from a wonderful variety of classes, and enjoy your stay. Please fill in the following:  
  
Name:____  
  
Penname on ff.net (if have account):___  
  
Sex: M/F/other___  
  
Race: human/mage/other___  
  
Age: 10, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 18  
  
Favorite Character: ____  
  
Favorite Type of Fanfiction: slash/AU/Mary-Sue/Crossover/Self-insert/other (please specify)___  
  
Preferred Pairing(s): ____  
  
Have You Read Any Books Relating to Winding Circle? Yes/No  
  
Really? Yes.../...yes  
  
If Yes, Which Ones? Circle of Magic (1,2,3,4)/The Circle Opens (1,2,3,4)/all  
  
Have You Read Any Books Relating to Tortall? yes/no  
  
If Yes, Which Ones? ____  
  
Have you created a Chime? (if yes, specify) No..../......no/no?/yes  
  
Have You Ever Written a Mary-Sue? Yes/No/NO!!/noooo...  
  
Are you sure? Yes/No/um.....yes?  
  
Really? Yes..../....yes  
  
If You Have Written One, Are You Proud of That Fact? Yes!/No *sniff*/should I be?  
  
Lust Object If Any (may name more than one): _____  
  
Reason For Applying: ___  
  
Really? Yes.../....yes  
  
Any Ir/Rational Fears (please specify)? ____  
  
Do You Believe Magic is a Tool That Can Be Wielded For Good or Ill Depending on the Person? Yes/No  
  
Which Would You Use It For? for the good of all mankind/Evil!hehehehehe.../to lure in (name of lust object)! lol  
  
Really? Yes.../...yes  
  
Please give the forms back to the dragon when finished. We await your arrival. -Miss DL  
  
Shawna shook her head. This was too weird. She flipped through the papers. Yup, too weird, definitely too weird.  
  
"No way," she said, shoving the papers back at the glass dragon. The dragon growled with a sound like glass shards going through a blender. "All right," she snapped, taking them back. "Can't believe I'm arguing with a figment of my imagination," she muttered as she picked up a pen. The dragon flew around the room a few times as she filled out the forms, occasionally causing Shawna to snap, "don't go near that!" Finally she was done, and shoved the papers at the dragon once more. It took it, making sure the girl got a couple paper-cuts in the take-off.  
  
"Ow!" she yelped, nursing her hands. The dragon snorted and took off out the window. "Well, that was a weird hallucination," she said, saving her story and shutting down her computer. "I'm sleeeepy," she murmured, sliding into bed.  
  
Imagine her surprise, waking up in a boat.  
  
Let's hope her shrieks and yell did not deafen those aboard.  
  
Note: If you wish to enroll, simply fill out the form. But please e-mail it to me, I won't pay much attention if you do it in the review. Or, worse, I will pay attention, and take special notice. But reviews would be nice. Constructive criticism please, though flames might be interesting. And preferably no "OMG! I love it!!1 keep wrighting!". While flattering, they offer no help whatsoever, and if you happen to be enrolled, will lessen my opinion of you. 


	3. Chapter Two: Welcome!

Chapter two: Welcome!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards. And thank you to Elvea, who is a fantastic beta-reader! Smooches and chocolate for you. Or just chocolate, your choice ^ ^.  
  
**  
  
"Miss, please try to calm down."  
  
"WHERE AM I??" Shawna screamed. The young man trying to stop her from screaming winced.  
  
"You're on your way to The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction," he explained. "Didn't you read the form?"  
  
"But-but, it's not real," she wailed. "It was a hallucination!" The boy shook his head.  
  
"Here Uneny, I'll take care of it," said a voice behind Shawna. The young man-Uneny, nodded and left, looking relieved. Shawna turned around slowly. Standing there was a tall, solidly built black girl, a bit younger than her, leaning on an ebony staff capped in bronze on one end and iron on the other.  
  
"I'm Daja Kisubo," the girl introduced herself. "You are aboard the Third Ship Kisubo which is taking you to Winding Circle, along with the others."  
  
"Others?" Shawna said shakily.  
  
"Other fanwriters who have written about us," Daja explained. "You were our last stop."  
  
"Oh," said Shawna in a small voice. Daja seemed to be repressing a grin.  
  
"Follow me," she said, turning around. Shawna obeyed. "For the rest of the trip, you'll be staying down below," she said, opening a hatch and starting down the ladder. "Come on, it's not that bad," she said after looking up and seeing she wasn't being followed. "Just go down backwards, facing the ladder." She hopped to the floor and stepped to the side. Shawna followed hesitantly, not completely sure of her footing. Surprisingly, she did not slip.  
  
"I made it!" she said, smiling at Daja. Daja smiled back.  
  
"How nice," she said, turning to walk down the small hall. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and squinted at it.  
  
"Um, Daja, may I ask you a question?" Shawna asked hesitantly.  
  
"Lessee-what? Depends on the question," Daja said, looking between names above doorways and the piece of paper.  
  
"Um, didn't your family, um, drown?" Shawna shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"Yes. They were resurrected for the university," Daja answered. "Ah, here we go. This is your cabin for the remainder of the trip. Please do not come on deck unless in extreme case of seasickness, as it would not be a good idea to distract the crewmembers. Have a nice day." She turned around and headed back to the ladder, leaving Shawna to enter the cabin.  
  
"Watch it!" someone snapped as she entered.  
  
"Sorry," she said automatically. "Wow, it's really dark in here."  
  
"Idiots," said a third voice. "Here." Light filled the tiny area as someone pushed aside a curtain covering the small window. "I'm Riana," the person added, stretching her legs as much as possible.  
  
"Shawna," Shawna introduced herself. She turned towards the third person.  
  
"Alli," she said sitting down on a small bed. "You two too? Glass dragon?"  
  
"Yep," Shawna and Riana replied.  
  
"I wonder how long it'll be before we get there," Riana said thoughtfully.  
  
"Land Ho!" Came a faint cry.  
  
"That was fast," Alli said, standing up. Shawna peeked out the doorway. Down the hall, others were doing the same thing. Some had already started their way up the ladder.  
  
"I think we can go," she said, poking her head back in.  
  
"Joy," said Riana as she shoved past her.  
  
"That was nice," Shawna muttered. It was fairly hard getting on deck, as the many fangirls were fighting each other to be first up, and she did end up getting an elbow in the face.  
  
"Owies," she whimpered, holding a hand over her eye. She made her way up along with the others (more because she was swept along with the crowd, but at least she got up), and blinked at the sight of the busy seaport they were currently docking in. "How did we get here so fast?" she wondered. "Magic?"  
  
"Plothole," answered a crewmember, overhearing. "They're all over the place; we thought it might be easier to catch this one."  
  
***  
  
"Miss DL, the students are here!" Miss DL looked up from the stack of papers she was looking at.  
  
"Wunderbar," she said dryly. "Did they pick up the two others I asked?" Pasco nodded.  
  
"Ciela and Kai?" he asked. Miss DL nodded. "Yes. They're training the dragons, right?"  
  
"Yes, and you can stop pretending not to be relieved," she said briskly. "It's not much of a secret that none other than Tris and Keth and a couple others are willing to get near the darlings." Pasco grinned sheepishly. "Better get them over to Discipline quickly, I promised Rosethorn that her workshop would not get dismantled, and I'm a bit afraid that a mini-balrog on his own.... yeah."  
  
"Didn't you have Frostpine and Daja there to make sure Leogoles would not do too much damage?" asked Dedicate Moonstream, the head of Winding Circle Temple.  
  
"Well, yes, but the minis can be tricky, the cuties." Miss DL bent to scratch Gimley behind.... well, where his ear would be if balrogs' ears were visible. "Yes you are, yes you are a cutie...."  
  
"Miss DL, if we could get back to the subject matter,.." Moonstream rustled some papers, and Miss DL sat up straight again, blushing slightly.  
  
"Right. Sorry." She looked at another of the enrolment forms. "Poor Briar."  
  
"Another one who lusts after him?" Moonstream pursed her lips and shook her head. "I suppose this is good for the rest of us, but....."  
  
"As soon as this first batch of dragons gets trained, I'll send some to him," Miss DL decided, glaring at a form from a Mary-Sue lover. "Do you think everyone is ready for the onslaught of fans?"  
  
"No." Moonstream shook her head. "But we are more prepared than we would have been, with you."  
  
"Yes, I suppose that my being a former fangirl does hold some weight," Miss DL said dryly. "But, um, could you not mention that please? I try to forget those days." She shuddered.  
  
"Of course." There was silence for a few moments. "Perhaps you should tell Gimley to follow Briar for a bit..."  
  
"Mmm, not yet, I need Gimley here for intimidation effect, and if Briar stays in the staff section until everything's ready, he should be fine." Moonstream nodded.  
  
"Hopefully." There was silent for a few more moments before Sandry poked her head through the door.  
  
"Miss DL, Dedicate Moonstream," she said, nodding her head in greeting. "The students are waiting."  
  
"Can you tell Briar he may want to hide for a bit?" Miss DL asked, rising. "It seems most of the students so far lust after him." Sandry looked like she didn't know whether to be amused or to be horrified.  
  
"He's on his way to the staff section right now," she said after a moment. Miss DL stretched.  
  
"Well, let us go greet the students," she said, smiling toothily. "So it begins," she added quietly as they left  
  
** Notes: And the third bit is finished. I apologize to would-be reviewers, I had no idea that I had the thing on "does not accept anonymous reviews"! Will be changed immediately. And I know I misspelled "Tortall". I'll change that as well. 


	4. Chapter Three: Welcome 2

Chapter Three: Welcome 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards.

And I would also like to say that the black robe worn by Miss DL in this chapter has nothing to do with the fact that in the Tortallan books, a Black Robe mage is among the most powerful. Really. No, I'm serious, I just remembered about it a few moments ago.

I would like to apologize for the delay in updating. It is a long story, involving my computer dying, college applications, and a hamster. (I _did_ say it was a long story.) Anyway, I am going to work on something to entertain you with when I have spent too long not updating, but that may take a while as well. And remember, my Real Life DOES come before this, sadly.

"What's going on?" Shawna whispered to her neighbor. "Hey, isn't this the room where they all meditated for the first time?"

"I don't know," the neighbor whispered back. "It's the Hub for sure, anyway. Have you seen Briar yet?" she asked, changing the subject. Shawna shook her head. "Damn. How 'bout Pasco? He's dead sexy y'know."

"Um, nooo, haven't seen him either." Shawna looked doubtfully at the girl next to her. "Isn't Pasco like, really young?"

"Not really. He's older than the four were when _they _started their magic training anyway. I'm UnDeadGoat by the way," said the girl, holding out her hand. "The UnDead bit's important, make sure you remember that," she added.

"Shawna." They shook. "So what's—" She stopped talking when she realized many people were shutting up. She looked front of the crowd to see a bunch of people coming in.

"Hey! That's Rosethorn!" A girl standing a little ways away said loudly. "Hi Rosethorn!"

"Quiet," said a young woman, stepping up to a podium while the others she came in with sat on chairs placed behind it. She was dressed in what resembled a mages' robes, except that instead of being a color of one of the temples, it was black. What looked like a frying pan rested in a sheath on her back, and she held a bunch of papers in her hands. "I said quiet!" she said again when some didn't pay attention in their excitement at seeing their favorite characters. Well, some of their favorite characters. It didn't look to be enough room on the dais for all of them. Some girls were complaining at the lack of Briar, but quieted down quickly after seeing the look the black-robed woman gave them.

"Thank you. I am Miss DL, the course coordinator at WCTF," she said calmly. "No doubt you are wondering what you are doing here, if you were a complete idiot and did not actually read the letter the Ch—the glass dragons were sent with. You are here to learn what is Good and Right, and to learn what is Not Good, and Not Right." She paused to let the words sink in. "You will be here for the time of about a year or so. More, if you haven't learned enough. Any questions so far—" several hands went up. "—that are unrelated to the canon characters?" Several hands went down. "Yes, you."

"Where are we going to be staying?" asked an angsty-looking girl. Miss DL checked her clipboard.

"Ahh, Doranwen, correct?" she asked. The girl nodded. "You will be staying in the temple's dormitories. Which one you stay in will depend on what kind of fanwriter you are."

"So, like, are we going to be staying with _them_?" asked another girl pointing to the Canon Characters.

"No." said Miss DL shortly. There were sounds of disappointment from the students.

"Are any of us staying at Discipline?" yet another hopeful girl asked. Something quite frightening

happened just then. Miss DL smiled.

"No. But if you wish to go there, then you may," she said, and there were murmurs of amusement from those behind her. "But I would advise against it," she said in an undertone. She continued in a louder voice, saying "There are housing lists posted outside this building. Look for your name, find your guide, and they'll take you to your dormitory.

"Now for some basic rules," she said over the sounds of groans brought on by this statement. "First of all, unless they are teaching a class or you have a question _regarding class material_, you are to leave the Canon Characters alone. Do not attempt to tackle and/or glomp any of them, or the glass dragons will attack you. Do not annoy any of the Canon Characters by badgering them with personal questions, or the dragons will attack you. Do not attempt to bribe the dragons to get to the Canon Characters. You will be attacked. No random wandering around late at night, or the glass dragons will attack you.

"And that is about it," Miss DL said with a smile that made some students shiver. "If there are any questions, please hesitate to ask. Write it down and put it in the 'Questions' box by your dormitory, and we may get around to reading them. Welcome to WCTF all, and try not to get _too_ hurt on your own."

Watching the students leave the Hub, Miss DL felt a hand on her arm.

"Why didn't you advise them not to go to Discipline a little louder?" asked Niko quietly.

"Because I did warn them," she replied. "If they didn't hear me, then they'll simply learn not to go there."

"That should be a painful lesson," Kirel commented. Miss DL smiled broadly.

"The best sort my friend," she told the blacksmith-in-training.

Shawna stood on tiptoes to look at the list. Aaaaaaaaaand...there was her name!

"Fire Temple?" she murmured. She shrugged. She'd been hoping for Earth Temple, but Fire wasn't bad. Who was the guide? Dedicate Skyfire? Who was that again?

"Oooh, Skyfire?" Another student had leaned over to see what caused Shawna's frown. "Heh, good luck." Before Shawna could ask what she meant, she heard someone bellow her name.

"WOULD SHAWNA JOHANSON PLEASE JOIN THE REST OF THE GROUP!" She winced, and trotted to the source of the noise. A tough looking wiry man with short red hair and beard Looked at her with dark blue eyes. "Nice of you to join us," Dedicate Skyfire said dryly. "If you all would please follow me." It was a command, not a question. The students trailed behind him in three neat rows; Shawna suddenly remembered Skyfire had been a general before taking his vows to the temple.

"I hope he isn't one of the main teachers," a girl next to her muttered, obviously having had the same thought.

So Skyfire walked, and they followed him. And they walked.

And walked.

And walked.

And walked.

"Are we theeere yeeeet?" Shawna was tired enough to lose all rational thought and began to whine. Skyfire stopped and turned, fixing the hapless girl with his piercing stare.

"Yes," he barked. "But thanks to your whining, you just earned your dorm-mates another lap."

"What do you mean?" someone asked, breathing hard. That had _not_ been a happy walk. Skyfire, in reply to her question, jerked his thumb over his shoulder. There were the Fire Temple dormitories—

—just a stone-throw away from the Hub.

"You mean that we've been walking all over Winding Circle for nothing?" an outraged student exploded. "You've been taking us around in circles?"

"Yes, and thanks to your classmate's whining, you just earned another trip," Skyfire repeated, a wolfish grin on his face. All the students with him turned and glared at Shawna. She whimpered and hunched her shoulders as a tiny protection against their stares.

Later, when they were finally allowed _inside_ the dormitory and while they were collapsing on their beds, Skyfire stuck his head in the door and added, "And I'll have a fifty page report on my desk tomorrow morning about what you learned today." There were immediate protests, including; "but we didn't have any lessons!", "but it's orientation week!", and the ever popular "fifty pages by _tomorrow_?!" Skyfire just grinned and pointed towards the pile of papers and writing utensils in the corner of the room before exiting.

The girls looked at one another in disbelief.

"I don't hear papers rustling!" came the Dedicate's bellow. One by one, they got up and selected sheets of paper, ink, and brushes, and returned to one of the desks that stood by each bed.

Shawna sighed as she dipped her brush into the ink and tried desperately to think of something she learned that day.

"Think they'd let us have coffee?" she asked her neighbor, massaging her leg with one hand. The girl thought a moment, then shook her head.

"Nah, prob'ly not."

Doom.

Notes: I re-did the enrollment form, but if you already sent in your form, you don't need to re-send it. Those of you expecting to see yourself in here—patience my friends, patience. And I am sorry it took me so long to get this up—homework and other things are piling up, and, sadly, my real life comes before this one (well, not if I had anything to say about it, but oh well), so do not expect amazingly regular and rapid updates. I'll try to get the chapters longer to tide all of you over (what, all seven, eight people who read this? Heh), but it's anyone's guess really.


End file.
